Effects of the fruiting period and growing seasons on market quality in goji berry (Lycium barbarum L.)

Progression of the vegetation period and change of year are associated with variations in general climatic parameters, such as temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, radiation, precipitation, wind speed and others. Only limited knowledge is available about the effects of these parameters on the characteristics of quality of fruits especially those with successive ripening such as goji berry. In our study, fruits of goji berry were characterised based on physico-chemical properties within four different harvest periods, in two consecutive years. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the pomological characteristics were superior at the beginning of the production season, while the phytochemical properties were better at the end. Fruit length, width and weight characteristics were noted to decrease from the first harvest to the last by 21%, 18% and 33%, respectively, while the total anthocyanin, phenol and antioxidant activity properties increased by 264%, 48% and 105%, respectively. There was a decrease in fruit weight, fruit length and fruit width up to 15.9%, 18.3% and 6%, respectively and were directly associated with yield due to sink competition among fruits. Providing high ripening index that ensures more acceptable fruits, with high soluble solid content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA) seems to be a very important breeding objective to meet consumer demands thanks to superior organoleptic quality. According to correlations, the synthesis of phenolic compounds increased in parallel with SSC rise and TA, which improved pomological properties too. It is thought that the obtained results may indicate the cultural processes and evaluation methods to be used for the harvested fruits